Blurring Lines, Sophia Lupin's Story
by SophiaOfSlytherin
Summary: Sequel to Choosing My Side, Sophia Lupin's Story. Set in DH. Sophie decides not to go back to school for reasons other than the golden trio's; she continues to spy on the Death Eaters. See what happens as time marches on towards the battle. OCxPW
1. The Move Out

**A/N: This is a sequel. Do not read this if you haven't read Choosing My Side, Sophia Lupin's Story because it won't make sense. Thank you.**

He was dead; Albus Dumbledore was dead, and I had assisted my cousin Draco in doing so, yet not ten minutes later been with Harry and the others mourning him. In retrospect, I realize that I have done worse since then, but at the time, it was the most horrible thing I had ever done in my seventeen years of life. Still, my first taste of blood, my first role in a murder, had been a few months before, and now it was August.

It had been over a year now since my father and Sirius died at the ministry. The pain then had been pretty intense, but it was eased by this time. Remus, who I now called Dad, had taken on the role when I truly needed him, even adopting me legally. It was such a miracle when he stopped lying to my cousin Tonks and himself and finally admitted his feelings. Their dating stage was quick; soon, they were married, and I found my step-mother to be my cousin, which was, I admit, a little awkward.

Not only had Dad and Tonks fallen in love last year, but I had, too. Except, no one besides he and I knew it. We chose to keep it a secret for multiple reason, but the best one being that Dad and his parents would basically have heart-attacks, and then his entire family would form a red-haired mob and attack me; I had fallen in love with Percy Weasley.

Despite being a Death Eater double-agent, life seemed okay. With all that had happened, the only thing really bothering me was that my re-occurring dreams had returned, but this time, they were different. I would see my father, mother, and Uncle Sirius as ghosts (Hollywood fake ghosts, not actual ghosts like the ghosts at Hogwarts who were actually quite nice), and they were surrounding my, flying about as fast like quicksilver and moaning my name. Their circling would move around me, but each lap got closer to me, so I walked forward with them as my guide. Finally, I stood over a picture of Dumbledore, who, also a ghost, rose from his portrait to look me in the eye. A single tear would escape his eye and run down his long nose. Afraid, I would spin around to find Bellatrix behind me. She would see the fear in my eyes and turn away like she would be merciful and leave me alone, but then she would spin back around, wand drawn, and mutter those words. And then I would fall for what felt like forever.

And I would wake up screaming. Dad would run in every night without failure except once. So it went all summer, but at the end of summer, it ended. However, this ending was not for the reasons he expected.

It was the last day of August. Dad came into my bedroom to say goodnight, and the clock read 11:16. His smile was classic, his eyes brighter than they had been last year. Even with the Dark Lord on the loose, he now had something to keep him going that he didn't have last year: Tonks.

I was sitting on the edge of my bed, pondering so many things on my own. After all, Mad-Eye Moody had died perhaps a month before, along with Harry's owl, Hedwig. On that night, Harry and eight other Harry look-alikes, including me, had moved him to a safer location. The plan had originally been for Dad to take George as his "Harry", but Juliet and I showed up at the last second demanding part, and so we switched; I went with Dad and Julie went with George. As it turned out, George ended up losing an ear. It was shot off by Severus, both he and Julie claimed. And so this is what I was thinking of; I was deciding whether or not we had truly lost Severus.

"Hey, have you packed yet?" he asked abruptly, breaking my thoughts and turning back to me as he had been exiting. He had already completed the nightly routine of following me to my room, straightening my blankets (neat freak), and kissing my cheek in a most father-like manner.

"Packed for what?" I asked, honest puzzlement present in me. It crossed my mind that I hadn't told him, but that, I thought, was impossible. In a moment of silence, I blinked three times.

"For school, of course," he replied with a chuckle, "Tomorrow is September first. The Hogwarts Express is coming. Did you forget?" Dad's eyes glazed his daughter, me, as if amazed at how stupid I could be to forget the date.

"I could have sworn I told you," I started slowly, looking at the floor because I was afraid to look into his eyes. Mustering up all my courage, I faced him directly. "Dad, I'm not going back to Hogwarts."

"What?!" Dad sputtered, "But you-! You have-! What about-!" When he finally found the words, they came out explosively. "You have to go back! You have dreams! What about your future?!"

"I can go back after the war is over, Dad," I said calmly, still making the eye-contact even as my own eyes began to beg for the release of my tears. "But not now. With Severus-" I swallows the lump in my throat that came from saying his name. "With Severus not assisting the Order anymore, I'm needed. I can't help from school, Dad."

"But Sophia, you don't have to assist the Order!" said Dad, "You're still just a girl! A girl who should be in school at that!" He glanced at the things of mine that were in fact much more orderly than usual. "What's that for if you have no need to pack?"

"I _do _need to pack, Dad," I said hesitantly, biting my bottom lip; even though I could have sworn I told him I wasn't going back, I knew I didn't tell him about this. "I'm, uh, moving out."

"Oh, no you're not," he added quickly and loudly. "There is no way you can live on your own, especially in a time like this! Voldemort" - I cringed at the name - "is high in power as he ever was before! There is no way you can handle all of this on your own!"

"Of course I can!" I defended, "I'm capable of caring for myself! I'm not just some child that needs attending to! Why do you treat me like one?"

"Because you _are _one, Sophia!" Remus said without thought, "You're not as grown as you seem to think! You're only seventeen, and you've constantly got your head in the clouds! And when have you ever had to care for yourself?"

Fury boiling inside of me, I shot back, "I've been caring for myself since I can remember! Think back, Remus! Four years old, Mum dies! What happens then? Dad decides instead of two jobs, he could work three! And all of the other children in the house from Mum's orphanage! They were paid more attention than I was! I was the orphan, not them! Not any of them!"

"Sophia Lily-Joanna Lupin!" Remus gasped, then angrily scowled. "Don't you _dare_ say such rubbish! Your father tried damn hard to give everyone his everything! And you had plenty of people around who cared for you, myself included!"

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?!" Tonks demanded as she stormed her way into my room. She glared demandingly from Dad to me to him again.

"Nothing," I growled bitterly. Tired of fighting, I pulled my blankets up to my neck tightly and rolled over to the side that made my back face her and Dad. "Goodnight," I added with finality. Angry and disappointed, Dad left the room. Confused, his wife followed him. Upset, I closed my eyes and fell asleep. However, the nightmare came quicker that night, and when I woke up screaming, it was only three in the morning.

Still angry about how I was being treated, I decided I would pack that very moment. An old suite case with my mother's initials, S. V. B., was sitting in the floor, so I grabbed most of my things and shoved them in tightly. When it wouldn't close, I remembered I could use magic, and with a flick of my wand, it all fit. Though I was not really crying or even upset, a few tears fell down my cheeks and unto the wooden floor because, though I wouldn't admit it, I was afraid. My suitcase floated behind me, and when I stopped to glance in the master bedroom, it bumped into the back of my leg. They were both asleep. Tonks had her arms around him like she was still afraid of him deciding she was better off without him and leaving. Dad was snoring loudly. I knew it was wrong to leave in the middle of the night like this, but it just seemed like what I had to do. With a small wave I whispered my goodbyes and hoped that when they woke up, Dad wouldn't be too mad. It was sad that my only thought would be if he was angry or not, but that was what it was.

Once I was down the road, I spun around as a shocked scream rang through the air. It was dad, no doubt. He had probably woken up feeling terrible about what had happened and came to see if I was awake so we could talk it out. _Oh well, _I thought. _no going back now_, and I kept on walking.

It was about an hour later when I realized that I had no idea where I was going. The sudden realization made my heart sink like the Titanic. It crossed my mind that I could go to one of three places; my options were the abandoned Grimmwauld Place, Malfoy Manor (also known as Death Eater Headquarters), or Percy's apartment. Thoughtlessly, I chose the latter.

It was a matter of seconds before I was outside of his door due to apparation. My suitcase had stopped floating as I was lacking the energy to keep the spell constant, and it wasn't until this time that I realized I was still in my pajamas. Poised to knock, I chose not to. Instead, I went back outside to calm an undesirable craving.

- There are many things that I am not proud of in my past. One of them is this "craving". It began during that summer after my father and Sirius died, over a year ago. This craving itself is something I chose to entirely leave out of my last tale for the joy of the reader, and I pray that the reader not think any different of me for it. -

To fill the craving, I pulled a lighter from one of my pockets and a small, cardboard box from another. The materials inside of this box were embarrassing and unspeakable, and by the next few sentences, the reader can infer what they were. I used the lighter to lit this material, which made it glow a moment and smoke, and I held it to my lips. Then I inhaled.

During that dreadful summer, I had, unknown to Severus, snuck out almost every night. On those nights I had managed to become involved with some muggles, muggles of the worst kind. To them, I was Mania Josh-Pois, an alias I created by skewing the order of my then-name, Sophia Jamison. I had done everything to make them accept me, (wear my hair black and in my face, use thick eyeliner, and even wear "their kind" of clothes) all to forget what had happened and who I was. Sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, it didn't.

It didn't matter what the reason, I knew. Smoking was bad; it was as simple as that. But I did it anyway. Then I went back to Percy's door and pounded viciously. As I didn't notice when the door began to open, I continued to pound until a voice said, "Ouch!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I explained in earnest. "I didn't see the door open-" Most likely, I would have gone on had I not been interrupted. But, of course, this kind of interruption was a very welcomed however unexpected kind; this kind of interruption was his lips smashing into mine. "Well, _Percy_!" I giggled, sounding fairly drunk. Still giggling, Percy grabbed my hand and pulled me inside so the neighbors wouldn't be woken.

"What are you doing here?!" Percy asked. "Not that I'm not thrilled that you _are _here. It's just that it's four-thirty in the morning!" His expression changed remarkably as his voice grew serious and monotonous. "Professor Lupin is going to kill me."

"No he's not," I said through odd giggles that must have been caused by his un-Percy-like spontaneous actions. "He doesn't know I'm here. Percy, I just.. got up and left" - I snapped my fingers - "like that!"

"You ran away?!" Percy half-cried, and he cringed at the very thought. After all, Dad didn't know about us, and if he found out, he would have a reaction. If he had a reaction, he'd come see Percy. If he came to see Percy, he would most likely do something regrettable.

"It's not running away!" I said defensively, " I'm seventeen, Perce. I told him I was going to move out, anyway. I just did it a lot sooner than he was expecting." After a moment of silence, I ventured. "Can I live here?"

Percy, who happened to just have taken a drink from the coffee mug that was sitting on the table, promptly sprayed the room black. "What?!" he gasped, and I pushed the palm of my hand into my face; I had forgotten how perfectly traditional Percy had been raised. In a normal home, the order is so: courtship, engagement, marriage, living together.

"Can I live here?" I repeated less boldly, then burst into a whipping tornado of words. "I promise to stay out of sight of your neighbors so they don't think you've got some" - I muttered an unrepeatable word - "living with you. If I have to leave, I'll go at night or something." I concluded this request like all requests tend to end: "Please!"

"But what if our families find out?" Percy reasoned, "It wouldn't be very secret anymore. My mother would bombard you, and you're father would rip me limb from limb, which, I must say, wouldn't be very good for either of us."

"You're cute when you're worried," I smiled and stole a kiss or two. "But sometimes, you worry too much. They won't find out. If I see them and they ask where I'm staying, I'll just say I got my own apartment. If they ask to see it, we simply hide your stuff and you get lost for the night." To re-affirm my point, I pouted playfully.

"Hmm.." he pondered, his index finger and thumb lining his jaw thoughtfully. "I just don't know.. Is there anywhere else you theoretically _could _go?"

"Grimmwauld Place, which is lonely," I frowned, "Or Malfoy Manor, which is swarming with Death Eaters and danger. Come on, Perce, I'm already unpacked." This statement he found to be true as he glanced at my empty suitcase.

"Well, I suppose so," Percy said finally, "Just for a few weeks." Instantly, I stretched my arms around his chest in a tight embrace. His own arms wrapped over my own shoulders, surrounding me in his warmth. After kissing the top of my head, he added, "Now, come on, it's five in the morning. You go lie down. I have to get ready for work."

Most likely, I would have whined, but I was exhausted. After trudging down the short hallway, I collapsed into his bed and entered what some might have called a coma. It would have been an actual coma, I think, if I hadn't been dreaming that dreaded nightmare, but this time, it was different. Instead of Bellatrix killing me, Percy came to my rescue and saved me from the awful beast I was forced to call my aunt. Then his arms would hold me tightly. A smile crossed my lips on my still-sleeping body.

When I woke up, it was nine in the morning, and the sun blinded me through the curtains. Percy had placed my things next to the bed, and inside, I heard an irritating buzzing. I opened the bag and pulled out the source of the buzzing, my two-way mirror. Thoughtlessly, I looked to it, forgetting that Dad was the owner of it's mate.

"Sophia, thank God!" Dad gasped at my sight. Part of this gasp was in shock, but I expect that my messy, freshly slept on hair contributed ever so slightly. His eyes scanned the background behind me. "Where on Earth are you?! Are you all right?!"

"I told you I was moving out," I replied simply, a shrug confirming my lack of enthusiasm. "You didn't believe me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling rather hungry." After placing the mirror face-down on the end table and beginning to exit the room, I could hear the muffled voice of Dad shouting my name behind me. I kept walking; I didn't care.

After careful examination of Percy's refrigerator and cupboards, I found there to be absolutely no junk food in the entire apartment. A moment of thought led me to the decision to, firstly, go to my favorite pub, the Hogs Head, for a drink and maybe something to eat, then, secondly, go to Malfoy Manor. I would end my trip by stopping in at the Burrow with whatever information I could manage from the Death Eaters.

Apparation was a miracle in my life, and using it, I entered Hogs Head. The owner served me what I asked for, a couple slices of toast and a butter beer. (I was the only one I knew who could drink that stuff first thing in the morning.) Honestly, I preferred the Hog to the Three Broomsticks because it was much less crowded. When I stepped outside, the few people who had dared to exit their homes made a mad dash into the nearest building. It had, it seemed, gotten out about that Mark on my arm. Shrugging, I apparated to Malfoy Manor.

Once there, I knocked on the door once before it swung open and I, without moving a muscle, literally _glided _in, only stopping once in front of the Dark Lord himself.

"Where have you been?!" he demanded. "You're supposed spying has brought us nothing new! Were you not with them the night Potter was moved?!" His snake-eyes pierced through me, taking my breath away.

"I was, My Lord," I blundered. "But they seem to not trust me at the moment, what with me being with your other servants when the old lunatic Dumbledore died. I didn't know it was commencing until about half a minute before we moved."

He hissed in a high pitch, sending my, and all the others in the room's, hands flying up to cover ears. "Excuses, with you, Black! Excuses!" The Dark Lord refused to call me by any name "unworthy" of his mission, and so therefore called me by my mother's maiden name, Black. "You must be unaware of what my servants are expected to complete! Demote yourself to Death Eater apprentice! Now go! Fetch Severus and tell him he is to teach you the ways of a _real _Death Eater!" Instantly, I did as my master commanded, though I didn't know what I would do if I found him.

When I did find him, which was a few minutes later as he wasn't that far from the Dark Lord, Severus was talking to Aunt Narcissa, who was apparently still falling over herself to thank him again and again for assisting Draco.

"Severus," I said calmly, walking up to Aunt Narcissa and he, "The Dark Lord has bestowed upon me the lower rank of Death Eater apprentice. He wishes you to teach me the ways to be as loyal and faithful a servant as you."

"S-Sophia," Severus stumbled, certainly surprised at my sudden appearance. "I shall do so, if it is the Dark Lord's wishes." He eyed Narcissa suspiciously, then focused back on me. "Perhaps we should begin else where."

"Certainly," I agreed. He apparated us to some place that I had never seen before. There was nothing above our heads, no ceiling, no overhang, nothing. Around us in an extremely large watermelon shape was solid stone, but below us was soft, green grass.

"Sophia, what are you doing here?!" Severus demanded, and for a moment, just a moment, before I remembered what this man who I had loved and deep down still _did _love had done, I saw a flicker of humanity in his eyes and heard the concern in his voice. But, as I said, it was only for a moment.

"I am a Death Eater, Severus!" I replied bolder than intended. Perhaps it was hurt and perhaps it was agony, but the pure defiance in a voice that sounded foreign despite it being my own was enough to make my ears ring. "I am-"

"We both know you are not!" he hissed, skewing my words with his own in an event commonly known as interrupting. "You are not loyal to the Dark Lord! You are loyal to Dumbledore and Potter, and you should get yourself out!"

Salty tears stung my eyes and released themselves from my capture, and I was stricken numb for a moment. As the tears blurred my vision, I used all of my force, which actually was a lot considering my size, to shove him aggressively. "I don't know you, Severus! One moment you're Dumbledore's man, an amazing god-father. The next you're this super-Death Eater, willing to give anything to his master! And now you think you're some bloody saint who cares about me and speaks of only protecting me?! Who are you?!"

After maybe ten agonizingly long minutes of awkward silence, during which anger and hate filled the air between us, air that was once filled with fatherly-daughterly love and respect, had past, Severus spoke clearly and with finality. "I am Severus Snape. I am your godfather," - the next words caught me completely off guard. - "and I love you. I only want the best for you." With what might have been a smile had this man not known so much hurt, he added, "Sophia, I think of you as more than my goddaughter. You are virtually my _daughter_, and, hopefully, you are my friend."

Speechless, my mouth opened involuntarily and slightly, but slowly my jaw dropped farther when I realized the seriousness in his words. When I finally found words, they came out explosively again, each like it's own firework. " 'Severus Snape, beloved godfather and Death Eater'? It doesn't work together like that, Severus! And I couldn't get out even if I wanted to! I'm far too far now to go back, and the Order needs me, what with you gone!" My eyes pierced him angrily as I spat out six simple yet demanding words. "Are you with us or not?!"

Severus turned his head away coldly and unintentionally dramatically. The melancholy feeling this conversation brought up was clearly mutual. "I am not sure who 'us' means," he said finally, "but your father trusted me enough to appoint me your godfather, and I am forever with _you_." Another moment slid by in silence. "Do you understand?"

"No, Severus, I don't understand in the slightest," I admitted honestly, "But that doesn't matter. You are to be teaching me how to become a better Death Eater, so let's hurry with the learning." I knew he didn't want to, but he had to, as it was orders from the Dark Lord. _And, _I thought, _he can't disobey his master no matter how much he claims to love me_.

"Sophia, how do you expect me to train you to be a proper Death Eater when you'll report everything I say to the Order?" Severus asked simply, and a small sigh escaped when he did so. My eyes suddenly grew huge in my head.

"So you _are _on the Dark Lord's side!" I accused bluntly, "How could you, Severus?!" My accusations clearly cut him deeper than anything knife or sword could have. Slightly afraid my words would break him and he would go off the deep end, my hand twitched towards my wand, which I had strapped over my black jeans to my right thigh.

"It is not as simple as that," he replied wearily, his face weighed down with concern, affection, worry, and at the same time, with ambition, expectation, and anxiousness. At this moment, he looked much older than his time; after all, he was still a young man, in his thirties, and he should have had much more spring in his step. He could have had this spring if the Dark Lord had never risen.

"How can it not be so simple?!" I demanded, frustrated; I couldn't believe how inappropriately indirect he was in his responses. "You're either with the Order or against the Order!"

"Now you're beginning to sound like the Death Eater side," he pointed out. "The Order does not say 'it is with us or against us'. As for sides, I sincerely wish I could tell you more and revive your opinion of me while still possible-"

"You're dodging the question," I cut in quickly. "How can it not be so simple as to be on one side or the other? There are clear difference, clear lines, between the sides! It's even simpler than first-year potions."

"The lines are blurring," Severus said, once again quite coldly and looking away from me. "There are no clear lines anymore, Sophia. Now, for today, that is my only lesson. Go home, back to Lupin."

"I no longer live with him," I said equally coldly. "As he and Tonks married this summer, I felt it necessary to move myself out. That combined with the fact that I'm seventeen now and will be eighteen this winter, that is."

"I see," he said slowly, "So, may I ask, where are you quartering nowadays?" The casualty of his voice nearly brought tears to my eyes as the memories of what once was, how we once were, flooded back into my mind, memories that I hadn't seen in while because I had blocked them out.

"I haven't got someplace of my own yet," I sighed, "But I'm staying with-" I paused, thinking of a good term. Instead, I just added, "a friend of mine. It's only for a few weeks."

"Which friend?" he asked impatiently. "I ask only because, depending on the person, it could affect how much the Dark Lord trusts you. He will pick up on something if it's suspicious." His eyes scanned me cautiously, most likely wondering who it was for other purposes. I expect he was also pondering if the "friend" of whom I spoke was a female or male.

"I am not at liberty to discuss it," I teased. "It's a secret between him and I. I guess you'll never know." Testing my luck, I winked suggestively. I shall never forget the half-disgusted, half-murderous expression on his face for as long as I live.

It was a truly confused, over-protective, blank stare. After a few moments of silence, I was unable to control myself and burst into a side-splitting laughter. Severus's expression stayed fixed exactly the same, which caused my laughter to increase. It puzzled him, and even me, how I could go from angrily shoving and tears leaking out both eyes to laughing so hard that tears were flowing again but for completely different reasons.

Once my laughter subsided, I consulted my watch to find it to be later than I had expected; around four P.M. I said goodbye to my godfather, who I still wasn't sure whether or not I would, or could, trust like I used to again. Just before I disapparated, he smiled at me, a real smile, one that I had never really seen, and told me again he loved me. As he had never said it much before that day, I wasn't really sure it was true or if he was just trying to lure me into trusting him again. In either case, away I went, back to Percy's apartment.

So as not to reveal myself to the neighbors, I apparated directly into the apartment. After I got there, I remembered that he wouldn't be home until six as he had to work a twelve-hour day. Bored, I collapsed onto his couch and flicked on the television, but shortly after, I could hear my little mirror buzzing from the other room. Almost scared, I answered it as my fingers trembled.

"Sophia, when are you coming home?" It was, unsurprisingly, Dad. He seemed upset, and he was nearly begging me to return. His eyes looked drained, and his face was especially pale.

"I'm not, Dad," I said, but, of course still concerned, turned the tables. "Are you all right? You look upset." And he did, in fact, look upset. Something about him screamed sorrow.

"Well, you see, uh," Dad stumbled, desperately searching for words. I heard giggling in the background and a faint, "Let me talk to her!" I smiled as the voice got what it wanted; it was Tonks.

"Wotcher, Sophie," Tonks beamed, much happier than Dad was. Her bright pink hair was contagious, and, unconsciously, my hair matched hers. "Guess what!"

"What, Tonks?" I asked, thinking game for whatever it was Tonks would throw out there. Little did I know what she would reply.

"I would like to state," Remus injected, "That I have no idea what on Earth she's talking about as she wouldn't tell me until you could hear, too." Tonks grinned widely and opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm pregnant," she squealed happily. Her large grin faded a little as she looked to Dad, now out of the mirror's view, who was seemingly on the floor. "Remus? Why did you fall down?" Then she turned back to the mirror and giggled to me. "He's passed out! Our little macho man."

I was extremely thrilled for my dad and Tonks to have their own baby on the way, and yet I was just a little scared. The timing wasn't great as their was a war commencing around them. But, still, a little miracle of life would be brought into the world in just a few short months, and a lot had to be done in preparation. It wasn't until I had turned the mirror off and promised I was on the way when the real realization struck me; this child would, technically, be my new little sister. (I had decided it was a girl.)


	2. Brother, Sister

**A/N: DON'T TRUST NEMO!**

As I drove my motorcycle to Dad's and Tonks's house, it occurred to me that I might as well have apparated. My head raced, my heart beating fast, at the exhilarating news, and my now glowing yellow with neon purple streaks, waist-length hair blew behind me as I had purposely forgotten to grab my helmet; I wanted the adrenaline rush. At a red light, a large flannel-wearing trucker who had, judging by the bite marks in his baseball cap, recently lost a bet, whistled in my direction. When I looked over at him, he blew me a fat, disgusting kiss. I smiled politely, but in the second before the light turned green again, I flipped him the bird, then sped away laughing.

Once I finally made it to the Lupin residence, I found a nervous, sweating Dad sitting on the porch. Not too troubled, I nudged him affectionately with my foot. "Wotcher," I smiled down at him, which was quite a weird feeling, me smiling _down_ at anyone. He didn't speak, but he let his face fall into his palms.

Confused, I gawked awkwardly at him for just a minute, trying to determine what to say and what not to say. "I said, 'wotcher.' That's your cue to say, 'hello, Sophia' and smile at me like you always do." I received no response. I nudged him again and sat down beside him. The response came then in the form of a groan. Concerned, my hair got shorter, turned reddish, and became wavy.

"Pregnant," he groaned into his hands. His fingers rubbed his eyes as he sat there, and it was obvious something was deeply bothering him. Affectionately, I patted his back lightly with my hand closer to him, which gave me odd flashbacks of him doing the same for me in years past.

He sat up and looked at me; I will never know for sure, but I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes. "Are you all right, Dad?" I asked seriously, rather worried for him, which was also a reverse of normal activity.

Looking me directly in the eye before instantly looking away, he said, "Someone sent an owl here for you. I didn't know where to send it." As he spoke, he reached into his pocket, and when he finished, he handed me a letter. "Who's this Soren Calebs?"

"A friend from school," I said nonchalantly, pushing my hand through the air to signify it was no big deal. "Don't change the subject. Are you okay?"

"I didn't know who he was," Remus explained, "so I skimmed the letter. My apologizes, but I didn't know." It was clear he didn't want to talk about it, but he needed not act so childish.

"I don't care if you read the letter, Remus John Lupin!" I said sternly, "I care if you are all right, which _clearly_ you aren't! So tell me what's wrong before I literally drag it out of you."

"She's _pregnant_, Sophia!" Dad hissed, then again collapsed his head into his hands. The rest of his words were nearly drowned out by his hands as they covered his face. "This baby might be.." He tried to continue, but the words wouldn't come.

"This baby might be the cutest darn thing ever," I giggled happily. I had to admit that possibly, after all. Dad was a rather handsome man, and Tonks had a wide range of looks, all beautiful. "What's so depressing about that?"

"No, Soph!" he shouted, snapping his head back up and staring at me. There was obvious anger in his voice, but it wasn't towards me; it was towards himself. "This baby is most likely going to share my - our - _condition_! It'll be a _werewolf_! Do you know what kind of life that will be?!"

I raised my shirt to show the bite mark scars that forever remained in my left side. "I think I might, Dad," I sighed. "But there's Wolfsbane. _If _the kid gets it, then we just put some Wolfsbane in her bottle. No problem."

"It's not that simple!" Remus cried, "You don't really understand, you've only had been a wolf for two years, but I've been like this since I was a child! Being born into it might as well be being born into Hell that you can't get out of! This child will be better off without me.." the final sentence was a whisper that I didn't catch.

"Dad, it's going to be fine. Honestly," I promised soothingly. "My baby sister's going to be the most amazing multi-colored baby ever, werepup or no werepup. Now, I'm going inside to talk to the baby-carrier." Without a further word, I stood up and went in. I glanced back at him there once. He got up and went for a walk, and I thought, _He'll be fine. He just needs time. _

I didn't know he hadn't planned on coming back.

"Wotcher, Mom-to-be!" I smiled as I walked inside, trying not to think about Dad's pretend lack of enthusiasm. Scanning for Tonks, I found her sitting in a rocking chair in the corner of the room. She seemed very solemn. "Whoa, quiet much?"

"Did he leave?" Tonks whispered so low I had to strain to hear her. Her voice was shaky as she fought back tears. Those tears, I knew, would not be allowed to come; Tonks was too strong.

"He just went for a walk," I offered, "Y'know, to clear his head. He'll be back in no time." I didn't really believe my own words, but I was a good enough actor to convince her. She almost smiled, but I could tell it was fake. Her right hand slid down to her belly where my baby sister was, and her left beckoned me over.

Slowly, I walked over to her in the rocking chair. Gently, I touched her stomach and was pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was. Even though it was too early for any kicking, it felt so miraculous that a little human being was forming inside of her. It made me almost anxious to have my own children. "Wotcher, baby," I whispered.

"My little boy," Tonks cooed happily. "You'll love it out here, baby boy. It's much bigger than outside than it is in there." She laughed to herself and to the baby.

"No," I argued with a smile. "It's going to be a girl. I am sure of it." She looked at me with her eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Call it maternal instincts that I've recently acquired," Tonks smiled, "but it's a boy. I just have a feeling."

"How much do you want to bet?" I giggled, "All of the contents of my pocket says it's a girl. That's about" - I counted - "Three sickles, two knuts, a paperclip, several hair ties, and some lint." Purposely I neglected to mention the picture of Percy I had left in there.

"What's that piece of paper?" Tonks asked. "You didn't mention a piece of paper." Her prying eyes tried to look into my pocket, but I buttoned it closed again.

"Nothing, nothing!" I insisted as I pulled away. I laughed to myself, a sure sign that any normal person would have been blushing. But I, by no means a normal person, never blushed.

"If it's nothing, then why can't I see it? Is it a picture of a boy?" Tonks asked, clearly enjoying having a seventeen-year-old to relive teenage behavior with.

Looking at my bare wrist, I said, "Well, look at the time. I better be going. Bye, Tonks!" I hugged her quickly yet carefully and made my way to the door. On the way, I bumped into Dad, who had already returned. He had a guilty look on his face that told me something had made him change his mind.

When I sat on my motorcycle, I didn't pull away at first. I pulled out the letter from Soren Calebs, wondering firstly what he would have to say and secondly how he got my address. The letter was as follows:

_Dear Sophia,_

_I haven't seen you this year at school. Are you here? I've heard students talk about you, so recently I've befriended them. Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Jaymes Black. Nice people, they are, but Luna's a little bit off. _

_I write because of what you said when we met at that cemetery. About your brother being in the hospital and dying. I asked my parents because of the familiarity with that date, and it appears I, also one year old at the time, was in the hospital for something or another at that time, too. How to put this, I wonder…_

_Let's make it simple; I contacted the hospital because I highly doubt even a crazy woman could misrecognize her own child. They told me that your brother Sirius and I had been taken care of very close to each other. My mind had one question that appeared to me only because my family and I look nothing alike with my brown hair and my parents both having been blonde. I asked if it were possible for the two babies to have been switched. The woman did not want to admit if a hospital could make a mistake, but eventually said yes. I overheard Ginny and Luna talking. Ginny was complaining that you had left your hairbrush among her things, so, curious, I took it when she wasn't looking. I had it tested against my own DNA. I asked Ginny for your address so I could write you the results; a positive. It appears the babies _were _switched, and I, who believed myself to be Soren Marquis Calebs, was born Sirius Jacob Jamison!_

_So, it was not all that simple as I claimed. In retrospect, it was rather elaborate. To put it plainly, I am your brother. I have told the man who raised me, my thought-to-be "father", about the results. He says I am still his boy, no matter what. But I would like to get to know my sister a little bit better. Tell me about our parents. I know they're dead, but what were they like? Write a response as soon as your functioning again from the shock._

_Sincerely yours, Soren Calebs (or Sirius Jamison. I'm still rather confused on which name to use.)_

In another rushing, excited haze was how I drove back to the apartment. My brain raced, thinking of everything I would need to write. It would be important to tell him about Mum and Dad's Hogwarts past, but, if he had looked, it might have already seen Mum's picture around school. After all, she had been on a winning quiddich team three years in a row (the three after the Marauders graduated, of course. Until that time, Gryffindor was untouchable.) I would need to tell him about our family - ours aunts and our uncles. He would need to know what side of the war they were on, and it wasn't pretty.

When I finally got back to the apartment building, I skipped up the hallway and into Percy's apartment. He was still at work. Instantly, I sat down to write a reply.

_Dearest little brother,_

_I write to you with enthusiasm at your being alive. Much of our family is not a cheery tale, but I shall share with you first the decent side, our father's side. _

_Our father's name was Jacob Christopher Jamison, Jr. He had two sisters, both older. Anna Jamison was three years older than he, and perhaps you've heard of her. Her husband and father of her three children is the American President of Magic, Ian Volven. Their three children are, as follows, Juliet, age nineteen, her twin sister Lola, and their youngest son, Christopher, who is my own age. He, too, still attends Hogwarts._

_Dad's second sister was two years older than him and named Suzanne. Suzanne married a man called Tyler Mabrouk. They had one daughter named Aaren. She is my age, as well. _

_Of the three, two of them - Dad and Suzanne - were Slytherins. The oldest, Anna, was in Ravenclaw. Their mother was from America. Their father, Jacob Christopher Jamison, Sr., was from Germany. Grandmother still lives California, but unfortunately, Grandfather committed suicide before we were born._

_And now on to Mother's dark side. Mum was born Sarabelle Venus Black, third child of four. All of her siblings were sisters, but they had two boy cousins to talk to._

_Mum's oldest sister was a familiar face if you've seen wanted ads. Her name was Bellatrix Black, and she was - is - ten years older than Mum. Bellatrix used to be all about making her family proud, but nowadays, she only cares about herself and her Master. She and her husband have no children._

_Next was Andromeda. She was nine years older than Mum. We're supposedly not allowed to be in contact with her because she married a muggle. Andromeda and Ted have one daughter, Nymphadora (Tonks) Lupin, who is expecting her own baby._

_Mum was third. Mum had the gift of being a megamorphmagius like me and Tonks. She could change her appearance, but typically she looked as follows: blonde hair, sky blue eyes with white that seemed to roll over like clouds, an amazing smile, and a sweet laugh. She died shortly after your supposed death. It was declares suicide, but I blame Aunt Bella Dearest._

_Last was Mum's twin sister. Technically, they were the same age, but, as Mum liked to point out, Narcissa was nine minutes and forty-three seconds younger. Narcissa married a particular Lucius Malfoy and has one child, and I expect you know him. Draco Malfoy is his name. _

_Our grandparents are not the kindest people. Druella and Cygnus Black are out of my contact. I'm not even sure if they are aware she died, and if they are, it is only by Narcissa's hand. When Mum visited them, she went without me or Dad, saying she didn't want us to know where they were. I met them only once when I was at Draco's house for a play date. When Mum found out, she was furious. We could not contact them if we wanted to._

_Mum and her sisters had two amazing cousins. The first was the late Sirius Black, who I must tell you a deeper truth about, and his little brother, Regulus._

_Sirius wasn't what you think; he did no crimes except tease my godfather Severus Snape nearly to the point of insanity during his school years. Sirius was an innocent man. It was his friend Peter Pettigrew that sold out the Potter family, not he. He merely took the blame. He actually has a daughter whom you've mentioned; Jaymes. Sirius was and will forever be my hero. _

_Regulus was a quiet, smart boy. He was ultimately the family's perfect child. It seemed the aunts and uncles groomed him as much as his parents did for perfection. Sirius was a Gryffindor traitor, but Regulus could be the Black's last change to carry on the name. Bellatrix tried to groom him, as well. To this day I haven't the faintest idea what became of him. He disappeared around the time I was born. _

_And this, Sirius Jacob Jamison, is our family. Love them or hate them, they are family. I know you are on the side of the Order, so be careful. I would suggest finding a way to inform Aunt Cissa of your existence, but bother not tell Bellatrix. If you were in her way, it doesn't matter if you're family or not._

_Love, your sister, Sophia Lily-Joanna Lupin._

_P.S. My last name is not Jamison because after Dad died, one of my godfathers, Remus Lupin, adopted me. I just thought you might want to know._

Content with the letter, I folded it up and slid it inside an envelope. Carefully, oh, so carefully, I let Scraper pick up the envelope with his falcon claws. Stroking his head, I whispered, "To Sirius Jamison at Hogwarts." Scraper lowered his head obediently before taking flight.

About the same time as Scraper flew out the apartment window (the back window, of course, so no muggles could see), a small, cynical-looking owl plopped itself practically onto my head. It dropped its own letter into my lap, and I cautiously unfolded it. I read the letter to myself.

_Dear little Sophie,_

_I have discovered a dire need for your presence at my home right away. It is rather urgent, so please do not be hesitant. Be careful on your way, however, as the weather seems to be changing drastically and quickly. _

_Lots of love, Aunt Bella._

Puzzled by the affection that seemed to be present yet curious at her motivation to write me, I decided I would go over to the Lestrange home. It was a terrible mistake, but at the time, I didn't know it.


	3. Aunt Bella Dearest

_The 1979 air was breezy, and two women stood together in the doorway of a house. The door was open, and the pouring ran blew in on them, coating the shorter of the two from the top of her cloak, pulled high over her head, down to her toes. The taller woman wore a cloak also as she greeted the other at the door. She bid her entrance, and the two women walked inside. _

_Once inside, the taller of the two removed her hooded cloak to reveal curly black hair and beautiful features. She took her smaller companion's cloak. She had long pink waves the first moment but the next her hair was straight and blonde. Her eyes were sky blue with white that seemed to flow across like clouds._

"_You called me, Bella?" the blonde woman asked. "What is it, sister? You know I can't stay here for long." She motioned towards the man slumped on the couch, Bella's husband, who had apparently passed out. A likely cause seemed to be the bottle in his hand.. "He'll report me."_

"_Relax, Sara," Bella assured, "He'll do no such thing. I wished you here to give you something. A family heirloom, if you will."_

"_Why me?" spoke Sara. "You're the eldest, shouldn't you keep it?" She eyed her sister wearily, confused by her sudden generosity. Despite a great age difference, the two had always gotten along, but Bella loved her family, praised it, and Sara could hardly see her giving up a family treasure._

"_I wanted to give it to my own daughter, as Mum gave it to me," Bellatrix confessed, "but I've no children. I've decided to give it to you."_

_After a moment of thought, Sara said, "Could I see it?" Bella nodded eagerly then turned to grab a silvery wooden treasure chest. Carefully, she opened it and lifted out its contents. In her hand was a long golden chain with a round, sapphire pedant. Sara gasped._

"_It's beautiful," she stuttered. "Thank you, Bellatrix!" Her sister smirked, seemingly happy with her younger sister's excitement. _

"_You're welcome, Sara," Bellatrix said sweetly. "Now, go home to Jacob and little baby Sophia and put that somewhere safe. It'll always be safest around your neck though, Sare. Remember it." _

"_I will, Bella!" Sara gushed and hugged her big sister; it had been years since her sister had been so kind to anyone. With Lord Voldemort on the loose and half of her family - including Bella - on his side, everyone was always at war, and kindness was scarce. _

_Once home, Sara examined the jeweled necklace more thoroughly. It had a rather sinister look to it, but she shrugged; most Black family heirlooms were sinister-looking. She fidgeted with it, and looking deeper into the center of the gem, she swore she saw her sister's face, but it was much darker, more angry, than usual, and she heard Bella's laugh, but it was unlike her, more cold and psychotic than usual. _Perhaps it's all in my mind, _she thought._

"_Sara?" The shock of hearing her husband's voice so out-of-the-blue like that jarred her so badly that she nearly dropped the necklace. And how unfortunate that would have been, she thought, to break a gift from her precious eldest sister. _

"_Jake, dear," Sara smiled falsely. "I didn't hear you coming. You frightened me. Where's Sophie?" _

"_Sleeping," Jake smiled back, though his smile was sincere. "What's that you've got there?" He spoke like he always did: with that strange American accent that Sara fell in love with. _

"_Bella gave it to me. Apparently, it's a family heirloom," Sara replied happily. Jacob frowned skeptically. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she added. "She may be on the other side of this war, but she is still my sister, and she loves me." _

"_All right, Sare, I believe you," Jake said, though truthfully he wasn't so sure. "If you say so." A minute of silence followed, but it was broken by Jacob speaking again. "You missed a phone call."_

"_From whom?" Sara asked as she played with the clasp of the sinister blue necklace. "It wasn't Lily, was it?"_

"_No, it wasn't. It was Moony, actually," Jake said. Just using his friend's nickname made him remember their school days that were not that long ago. "He wanted to thank us for asking him to be Sophie's godfather. Again."_

"_He's so excited by this," Sara smiled. "He does realize he won't be her only godfather, correct? He knows Severus has been asked, too?"_

"_I haven't had the heart to tell him," Jake chuckled. "He thinks it'll be him and Sophie from now on."_

_Sara laughed, too, but lighter than her husband had. She glanced from him to the necklace, specifically the sinister pendant, then back again. "I had best put this somewhere safe. Perhaps that old chest Sirius gave me will do." She climbed up on a chair to try and reach the chest sitting on the top shelf in her closet but, being a meager five foot, four inches, she couldn't reach, so she got down and her six foot, three inch husband got it down her for. _

_She delicately opened the chest and placed the necklace lovingly inside it. For a while, she forgot it was there, but about two years later, Sara was spring-cleaning and discovered the old chest above her closet. She considered standing on the chair and stretching like she had tried those years ago, but after putting a hand on her pregnant stomach, she reasoned against it and had Jacob get it down once more. Inside was the necklace, dusty and rusting. She took it out and blew it off, and all of the dust flew towards the toddler Sophie who had snuck into the room, who promptly sneezed. Sara smiled at the necklace, fondly remembering the sister who had given it to her and was now in Azkaban. _The least I can do is honor you, Bellatrix, by wearing the family heirloom you so graciously gave, _Sara thought. She placed the necklace around her neck and lifted up the pendant to look just one more time at its mystic sapphire qualities. _

_She wore that necklace everywhere except in the shower or to bed. When either of those two occurred, the necklace was tenderly placed on the bedside table. During the span of time when she wore the necklace, she began to change. She became less and less predictable, less and less responsible, especially after the death of her son, Sirius Jacob. She cried he was alive, that the body presented to her as evidence was not her child, but she had been acting strangely for a while, and most fancied her mad. _

_She got the necklace from her sister on December 29th__, 1979, just four short days after her first child was born. Not five years later (it would have been five in eight weeks), she was dead. All signs pointed to suicide. The only witness was her four-year-old daughter, Sophia Lily-Joanna Jamison. _

~o0O0o~

Despite the fact that it was September, it was raining like April when I arrived at Aunt Bella Dearest's house. She met me at the door and smiled in an almost friendly manner that I had never before seen as the rain soaked me thoroughly. After a moment, she led me inside.

Once in, she took off the hooded cloak she had grabbed on the way to the door. When the hood came down, I saw exaggerated features that were both familiar and foreign; her wild black hair that hadn't been brushed since she'd been sent to Azkaban, deranged eyes that read as clear as day, "Danger!" The strangest thing, though, was that she seemed almost friendly, like she of all people was the victim. I had never seen this side of her. I myself allowed her to take my hot pink jacket to her coat room. My own hair was neon orange, boyishly short, and spiky, and my blue eyes matched those of my mother.

"What is it, Bellatrix?" I asked impatiently, "What do you want from me? I've got better things to do than hang around here with you and Sir Drinksalot." I motioned with my head at Uncle Rudolphus Dearest.

"No need to be snappy, Sophia," Bellatrix pouted, then smiled. "I wished to give you something. A sort of family heirloom." I looked her over, trying to read her; I couldn't.

"Me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's the catch? And why not give it to Aunt Cissa or something. She's much more family orientated than I am, and I'm not even an actual _Black_, just the daughter of one."

"No catch," Bellatrix replied calmly. "I simply wished to carry on the tradition of passing jewelry on from generation to generation. Narcissa has no daughters to give it to; she would be the end of it, and I have no daughters of my own. I've decided that it shall be yours, Sophia."

As I bit my lower lip, I contemplated what this woman was planning. As a minute of silence passed by, I dared to venture, "What does it look like?" Bellatrix nodded excitedly and turned to grab a small treasure chest. The chest was rusted and bronze, but it appeared like it was once silver. Delicately, she opened the chest and pulled out the chest's only filling. She stretched her hands towards me to reveal a ring. The ring itself was gold and sparkling while the gem that spanned the top was beautiful and a perfect Slytherin-green. Involuntarily, I gasped.

"It's amazing, Aunt Bella!" I exclaimed, all of my hatred momentarily melting away by this bribe. "Thank you so much!" I reached out and like a viper grabbed the ring from her palm.

"You're welcome, Soph," Aunt Bellatrix sweetly said. "Now, go back home to that father and stepmother or cousin or what ever you call her of yours. And keep that safe. It's safest when you wear it, Sophie. Remember."

"I will, I swear!" I squealed. For a moment, I considered hugging the woman I had spent so many years, practically all of my life, hating with all of my being. On an impulse, I did so. I had never seen her like this; so kind, so caring, or so obviously human. Usually, she seem intangibly evil that she wasn't even a person to me. It was difficult to believe these two were the same person.

When I got back to the apartment, I instantly plopped myself down upon the couch and examined the ring further. It seemed strangely ominous, and when I stared closely into the center of the Slytherin-green jewel, I could hear her menacingly deranged laughter, and her cackling face appeared in my mind. The second I looked away, however, it all ceased. _I'm tired, _I justified to myself, _I'm seeing and hearing things because I didn't sleep well last night. _

"Sophia?" The suddenness of hearing my name surprised me just enough to jolt me into the clumsy state in which I usually dwelled, and I nearly dropped the ring. What a dreadful loss it would have been, I thought, to lose such a priceless family heirloom!

"Percy," I smiled, though I wasn't sure whether or not it was sincere. I threw a couch pillow at him. "Don't sneak up on me!" I laughed. "How was work?"

"No better, no worse than usual," Percy shrugged. He noticed the ring I was fingering. "Where did you get that?" Though both British, the Weasleys seemed to have a particular way of speaking, especially Percy, which was another thing I loved about him.

"You won't believe this, but Bellatrix gave it to me," I informed him, "I guess it's some sort of family treasure or something. When Percy frowned cynically, I added, "Oh, don't give me that look. She _is _my aunt, and I guess she would have to be capable of _some_ kind of compassion."

"You don't have to defend her to me," said Percy, "It's fine. If you think it's just a family trinket, then it's a family trinket." He broke the silence that followed by stating, "Your mirror rang while you were out."

"Do I get three guesses who?" I asked sarcastically. There was only one possible person who could be ringing my mirror, and we both knew who that was.

"It was Professor Lupin, of course," Percy replied with a smile. "I accidentally bumped it when it rang, so it turned on. He wanted to thank you for the advice about the baby. Again."

"He seems so psyched, once he made up his mind," I said, then teased, "Do you think he's aware that other people have babies all the time? Him and Tonks aren't the only ones?"

"I don't think I've got the heart to tell him," Percy chuckled. "He thinks this baby is going to be the world's first." I laughed with him, but my eyes drifted up to a chest I had placed on the top shelf of the closet; it had bee my mother's chest, and she had received it from Sirius long ago. I considered placing the ring inside of it, but it looked so sparkly and dazzling on my finger that I couldn't possibly resist wearing it.

I started wearing it daily. It was on my finger nearly all hours of the day. A few days later, I began acting strangely. My temper flared slightly, my eyes flashing with something even I wasn't familiar with. Percy noticed it, too, but, as I had only began staying with him a few weeks before, he probably assumed it was my "time of the month". Oh, if only that had been the case. What was actually happening was something gravely more sinister.


	4. Changing for the Worse

It had been four days exactly since Aunt Bellatrix had given to me the beautiful Slytherin-green ring. It had scarcely since left my finger, only off during slumber and bathing, and when it was off, I felt different somehow. Secretly, I began to doubt everything around me. Didn't that light just flicker? Wasn't that coat over there a moment ago? I was paranoid for no good reason, it seemed, so every time the feeling came, I put my head between my knees until it went away. Sometimes, I had random urges to see people whom I knew I could not see. Once, at exactly four o' clock the seventh day I'd had the ring, I craved nothing more than to be with my father. On day nine, I cried myself to sleep, desiring my mother's company! It was on day twelve that I received an owl from Severus, breaking my oncoming paranoia attack. The letter read;

_Dear Sophia,_

_I have planned a day on which we may work on your Death Eater training. As you of course recall, I only can escape to work with you on weekends due to my headmastership at Hogwarts School of Magic. Arrive at my home at eight-forty in the evening on September thirteenth, which happens to be tonight. I expect your arrival to be prompt, as if you were attending a class at Hogwarts, and, like Hogwarts, attendance is mandatory. _

_Love, Severus._

Bitterly, I crumpled the letter in my hand, still admitting to myself that I would attend. I scowled to myself, wondering why he was like that. He would one moment act formal and almost cold, but the next, it was "Love, Severus". It made no sense. Looking at my hand, I fidgeted with the ring. I took it off for a moment and almost immediately became light-headed and slightly dizzy. When I put it back on, the symptoms went away.

Just like every other time, I pretended it never happened. I lied to myself, saying that it was all just in my head. I wanted so badly for it to be my imagination - the doubt in the back of my mind - that caused it because I wanted desperately to think that Bellatrix had changed. I didn't care whether or not she really had; I just needed myself to believe it for my own selfish reasons. It was my only way of justifying anything and everything that she had done to me or the rest of my family.

Just then, Percy's apartment telephone rang. For a moment, I panicked; we hadn't thought about what to do if this occurred. I just stared at it while it rang and rang, but by the fourth rang, it became too irritating for me to handle, so, hesitant, I answered.

"…Hello," I spoke into the telephone. I hadn't used a muggle device like this for a while, and it felt foreign in my hand. Feeling like a secretary, I added, "Percival Weasley's residence, who's calling??"

"…This… is… Penelope Clearwater," a female's voice returned across the telephone system. I could feel my blood boiling beneath my skin just at his ex-girlfriend's name. "Is Percy there? And who is this?"

Angry and not thinking clearly, I replied in a fake calm voice, very out of character, "Oh, Miss Clearwater! This is Percy's current girlfriend; you see, I live with him. Percy's at work right now, so obviously he can't talk, but I could take a message if you'd like."

No response was given. After twenty seconds of silence, I heard a click, and a moment later, the beeping of a hang-up rang in my ear. I could do nothing but laugh. The laugh sounded unlike me, but yet it wasn't foreign completely; it was high and strange, almost like…

I let the thought pass. That laugh was not mine, it was Bellatrix's, and she had since let it go. She'd recovered, I thought, and the deranged laugh had gone. The door clicked and opened, so the thoughts died out as I saw Percy's face.

"Your phone rang," was the first thing out of my mouth. I didn't know why I said it, but for some reason, I wanted to share with him my eventful conversation with his ex-girlfriend.

"It did? Did you answer?" Percy asked in quick secession. I nodded happily. "Well, who was it? And what did you tell them?" He seemed truly bugged about this, so I was firstly hesitant to tell him.

"Penelope Clearwater. She asked who I was, so I told her I was your girlfriend and that I live with you. I offered to take a message for you, but she hung up," I said like it was no big deal. Percy slid down into that comfortable chair that all men seem to have, and I walked behind him, my hands on his shoulders. "What was she doing calling you, anyway?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Percy replied truthfully, so I lessened my grip on his shoulders, which apparently had been rather tight. Trust me to reveal my own secret jealousy. I did believe him, but I pouted my lip and turned my head upward. "Oh, Sophie, don't be that way."

"Don't be what way?" I shot back more bitterly than intended. "I'm not being any way, Percival. It's perfectly normal for your ex-girlfriend to call you and then hang up, perhaps die of shock, that you have a new girlfriend who happens to live with you. That is completely standard."

"Sophia, this isn't about Penelope, is it?" Percy asked, but it was more of a statement. His eyes were fixed on mine, concerned to a fault, and my own eyes tried to escape, but his lured them back, seducing them. "You aren't acting like yourself."

"Truthfully, I don't _feel_ like myself," I replied. It sounded perfectly harmless to my own ears, but apparently, to him, it cut like knives. On an impulse that I hadn't even felt until I obeyed it, I half-leaped over and kissed him greedily, a way most unlike me. Usually, I was to a degree of softness and gentleness, but this kiss was rough and harsh.

After a split second of kissing back, Percy pulled away. "Something's off here. This isn't like you." He glanced down at my right ring finger where the Black ring glittered ominously into his eyes, but then away a second later. The way his eyes flew from it was unnatural, and definitely not by his own will.

"Oh, who cares?" I replied half-heartedly. My shoulder shrugged itself without my telling it to do so, but that didn't seem crucial to worry over. Leaning in, I added, "This isn't worth a damn minute of talking. I know something better for us to do-.."

"Sophia!" Percy shouted as he got up to avoid my offer. Instead of his lips, it was the soft chair that mine crashed into. When I turned around, he was behind me, a harsh glare controlling his eyes. "What on Earth is the matter with you?!" He looked to the clock. "It is eight o'clock. Perhaps it's best if we turn in early!" Without another word, he pointed out of the living area and into the bed where I slept. In an equal silence, I trudged in.

Once in, anger swept over me and controlled my movements. It caused my fist to attack the pillows, mercilessly beating them until feathers flew out. It made me throw my arm down upon the glass end table, which shattered into thousands of pieces, some of which stuck in my arm, and I bled. Either unnoticing or uncaring, I continued my raging fit, and anger continued to move me. It forced the hand attached to the bad arm, my active right arm, to punch through the window, which crumbled into tiny pieces. When I pulled my hand back out, my knuckles were completely bloody.

Stupid, stubborn, still fuming, or all of the above, I couldn't let myself go ask Percy to heal my arm, and it being my wand arm, I couldn't heal myself, but if I did nothing, I knew I'd bleed to death fast. Then I remembered that I was supposed to meet Severus in about forty minutes anyway, so I decided to go a little bit early, and hopefully he would be there. After a quick internal battle about the dangers of apparating while injured, did so and was outside of Severus's house in a matter of seconds. I tried to knock with my injured hand, but that only caused me pain, so I switched to the left and pounded as hard as I could.

"Being early is not courteous, Sophia!" Severus called, his voice growing stronger as he approached the door. "You should have learned that by now-.." The door opened. "My God, Sophia! What have you done to yourself?!" In an instant, he whipped out his wand, and in another, I was healed.

"Let's just say Ickle Sophie-kins had a temper tantrum," I replied in a strange, unlike me sort of way. In fact, it sounded more like.. "Could we begin early since I had to come any way?"

"I suppose we might as well," Severus said quietly before turning and, leaving the door open, walked inside. Taking it as a hint to follow, I entered behind him, shutting the squeaking door behind me. I caught up to him, with a strain of difficulty, I might add, as my legs were so short, and tried to make eye-contact. His dark eyes would linger on mine for only a moment before quickly averting. I had seem him behave this way only once, and that was around..

"Severus, look at me," I demanded, interrupting my own thoughts. I couldn't even feel the words slide out of my mouth, only heard them as they rang through the awkwardly silent air. "Severus, I demand you look me in the eye."

"What for?" he asked with an air of sudden depression that caught me off guard. "She's gotten to you, and it's just a matter of time now, really. I cannot believe this is happening twice in one lifetime."

Something inside me hissed, _do not ask! _Regretfully, I listened. Had I betrayed the voice, I would have spared everyone some pain in the future, but I listened instead, and we walked in silence with me unknowing of the danger that fate had waiting for me ahead.

Once we made it down the last corridor, Severus spun around on his heels to face me and began speaking. "All right, Sophia, the first thing you must learn to raise yourself as a proficient Death Eater is…" I tried to pretend I was listening and actually not listen, but apparently my pretending was too convincing, because I _was _listening, and attentively. Each and every word soaked into my brain and left its permanent mark. For a moment, yet only for one, I forgot I was a spy. Everything went out the open window that was my mind, and it said, _this is what I am_. And then I shook it off, but the memory of that minute of betrayal forever preserved itself inside of me.

"…and, Sophia, are you getting this?" he asked half-way through. I nodded a little more eagerly than intended, and he sighed in that new depressed way. "All right, now we…" Again I listened against my will, and I could feel myself perk up attentively. I shrugged it off, telling myself that I just couldn't ignore him because he was my godfather and I loved him. If only I could have seen the true monster inside of me beginning to blossom.

"…It's getting late," Severus finished, looking up at the clock. "It's a quarter to one in the morning. Get going to that 'friend's' house you're staying at." After a silent moment, he added, "Are you ever going to give me more information on this 'friend'?"

"I'll tell you that he's not just a friend," I winked and laughed in an uncharacteristic way. "Don't worry," I added at his disfigured expression, "he's a traditional boy." With a smile, I patted his shoulder and, on an impulse, kissed his cheek in a daughterly way. Directly after, I disapparated back to Percy's.

Once back at the apartment, I quietly tip-toed into bed, careful not to wake Percy, who had to get up for work in four short hours. Once in bed, I reflected on the day's activity. I felt so off; my emotions had ranged from loving to angry in a matter of seconds, and then I was smiling not ten minutes later. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Just remembering before my eyelids slid closed, I slipped the Black family heirloom Aunt Bella had given me off of my finger and sat it on the nightstand. For a second, I had extreme vertigo when the ring was off, but in next, it passed, a situation that I had become accustomed to and had written off as my imagination. A second later, I was in a deep slumber.

My mind played out a dream for me to view. It was my mother and my father, both alive and well. They got to meet Sirius Jacob Jamison, who really _was_ alive, and they met, for the first formal time, Percy. Uncle Sirius was there, too. And even James and Lily Potter were smiling and breathing. It was the world's largest reunion. When I woke, I whispered with a smile, "Do you like him, Daddy? Mum? Don't you just love him? I know I do."

**A/N: Basically accomplished nothing except a developing rage in Sophie. What's wrong with her? Why is she acting so off? Post your guesses in review format, and be sure to read chapt. 5 whenever I get around to writing it! XD**


	5. Devastation and Consolation

Weeks passed, and I became even worse. At the slightest disappointment, I flew into a fit of rage, smashing things all around the apartment. There were numerous occasions that I again had to apparate to Severus to fix a bloody hand or broken knuckle. Each time, he seemed saddened by me, like each time I had fallen farther from him, from humanity. To a degree, this was true, but I didn't know it. As he healed me at my visits, I began to trust him again, against my own will. Something in the back of my head, something that used to be in the front of my head, told me not to trust him. This part didn't want to get hurt again by a betrayal, a part that was scared. Of course, the visits had to be less often than I would have liked as he was at Hogwarts most of the time, being Headmaster. If he was unavailable, I'd go to one of my aunts; Narcissa or Bellatrix, that is. I never went to Andromeda. I didn't know why.

Also, I heard Severus's words echo through my head. _"The lines are blurring…" _My own lines were indeed blurring. A couple times, I let real information fall through to the Death Eaters. I didn't know what side I was on anymore. My personal opinion had really always been that it wasn't my battle, it was between Harry and the Dark Lord, but still I found myself interfering. I tried to justify moving towards the darker side as my protective instincts towards Draco. After all, what would happen to him if the Dark Lord failed? But, at the same time, what would happen to all of my other loved ones if the Dark Lord was victorious, especially muggleborn Hermione? My lines had blurred to nearly nothing. Sometimes, I didn't know the difference between the sides.

However, one part of me changed for the better. When not an aggressive monster, I was a sweet, housewife-like woman. Children on the streets made me melt inside, hitting on a weakness I didn't even know I had. If a single thing was out of place in the apartment, it wouldn't be for long. Immediately after breaking something, even before going to be healed or healing myself, I mended the object.

The ring scarcely left my finger. I could hardly bear it being off. I felt sick when I removed it, a great fog of dizziness plaguing me each and every time. Without much thought, my brain wrote it off as not being dangerous, being only coincidence or a happening of my imagination. I convinced myself it was either all in my mind or pure luck, nothing more. It would prove in time to be a near-fatal misstep that would result in much suffering on those I loved the most.

In another month, physical changes in me began to occur along with the mental. My megamorphmagius abilities were weakening. It became more difficult to change my appearance, sometimes impossible. My hair became unruly, hard to control. The color shifted sometimes uncontrollably, sometimes not at all, usually finishing on a black as dark as midnight. My signature blue eyes, features that never before had changed, looked foreign in the mirror. Something strange sat active in them, something that would have scared me if I'd had my wits about. Something in the back of my mind, the part I used to follow solely, screamed to break through the reluctant or calm thoughts. _This isn't natural!_ It cried out to me, _Talk to Remus! He can help! Go! Go now!_ I fought it, however. I was too nervous; I hadn't seen him for some length of time, maybe since September. That strange new part of me coupled with my busy schedule, I hadn't allowed myself a visit.

Seconds flew by, seconds that turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks. Weeks finished as months. Before I knew it, it was December. The last time I had looked at the calendar was the end of November. I had since besides myself with two of the things I was greatest at: shopping, and not listening to Remus, who still requested I return home with him.

When I'd finished my shopping -an activity that my changing self still enjoyed- it was near Christmas. The exact date was December twenty-second. As I pulled in my final haul of presents, I found Percy sitting and reading a book. A flirtatious smile making itself present, I greeted him. "Hallo, liebe." It was harmless. It was sweet. It was, well, German.

At the sound of my voice, he jumped to his feet and dropped his book. Though I didn't notice, his hands were behind his back, and he was holding a small box. "Sophia!" he exclaimed, looking at me rather nervously. "I-I didn't hear you come in."

Virtually involuntarily, my eyebrow raised, and I had to inquire. "How did you _not _hear me?" I asked. "I was lugging in seven bags of stuff from a good day of shopping. By the way, you have to help me wrap," I added with a laugh.

Percy smiled lightly, a simple chuck quietly escaping him. "Soph, that's not important right now," he said with importance. "Wrapping doesn't matter, either." Simple words with simple, insignificant meanings he used. Still, something about him saying what I had been talking about wasn't important made something in my head go off. "I have something-.."

"Those are both extremely important!" I interrupted angrily. It was odd how I went from mellow to furious in such a short amount of time. "Maybe you have a hearing problem or something! Think of that? And Christmas is in _two days_. I have to get all of my gifts ready! It matters a lot to me!"

I saw his lips part to speak, but I started shouting again before he could get a word in. "And don't say you're sorry!" I shouted, knowing that was what he was planning on saying. "It doesn't matter if you're sorry!" I turned away from him, a single uncontrollable tear trickling its way down my cheek. "Apologizing doesn't make you care."

Again, he prepared to say something, but I spun around again, back in full fury. "Don't even say it!" I yelled. "Don't say you care, because you don't! You don't care about me at all! If you say anything else, it's a lie!"

For a moment, Percy said nothing. He might've thought if he spoke again, I'd interrupt. This time, however, I had no intention to. When he finally spoke, he said, "This is chaos. It's not worth an argument. I'm going to go take a walk. Do you know that gazebo in the park down the street?" -I nodded- "Meet me there in exactly fifteen minutes." Without further words, he inconspicuously moved the box behind his back into his pocket, another thing that I didn't see, and walked outside.

My brain flashed a sudden rage. I didn't know why. I was out of control. Without a single thought, I picked up a photograph sitting on the coffee table and threw it against the wall and watched the glass in the frame shatter as it hit. Remorse flooded me, and I went to assess the damage. When I picked it up, I cut part of my right hand, including my fingers, but it didn't hurt too badly, and the only uncomfortable part about it was that it started bleeding. Looking at the frame, I discovered it hadn't been Percy's photograph that I threw, like my anger had hoped. It was one of mine, a photo of my father. "I miss you," I whispered, a few tears escaping my control. Braving myself up, I grabbed a piece of paper and began writing a note that I didn't know what would say until after I wrote it. Not able to find a pen, I wrote in blood.

_Dear Percy,_

_My things are with me. You haven't been robbed. I've left. I can't do this anymore; I just can't. _

_No longer formally yours, Sophie_

Thoughtlessly, I packed my things. When I moved in, I never completely unpacked, only taking out what I need, so this was a quick task. Wand in hand, I mended my photo of my father, which took some doing, my wand hand slippery with blood. I held the note to my lips, kissed it once, leaving a pink lipstick impression, and put it in the pocket of the jacket he would wear to work the next day. Then I went outside, loaded up my things, and rode away on my motorcycle as fast as I could.

I hated myself for what I had just done -absolutely loathed myself. Finally, I had the man I spent _forever _longing for, and I screwed it up. _Good job, idiot,_ I thought angrily. _You just messed up your entire life!_

My ride finished outside Severus's house. I knew he'd be home since it was holiday break. No way would he be at that bloody school for Christmas. After all, I was suppose to meet him here for Christmas on Christmas Eve. He had to be home by now. My right hand still bleeding, I chose to knock with my left hand, a probably logically choice. Due to recent escapades, when Severus opened the door and found me bleeding, he didn't seem too surprised. Wordlessly, he healed my arm and motioned me inside.

"So," he said once I was inside. I had left my things strapped to my motorcycle outside. "What brings you with all your things? Aren't you staying with that… 'friend'?" He sounded depressed, yet possibly somewhat relieved.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I tried to fight them, but they were stronger than I. "My 'friend' was much more than a friend," I said quietly, the tears streaming my cheeks yet not affecting my speech. "But you don't have to worry about it. I screwed it all up, anyway."

Severus's eyes glittered with understanding. I wasn't completely sure why. He put a caring hand on my shoulder and spoke to me with compassion, compassion that he never showed anyone besides me. "I see," he said, and I believed him. "May I ask who the boy was?"

With a sniffle, I nodded. Hesitantly, I bit my lip. I wasn't sure he would have exactly approved. After all, I was, technically, a Black, and a Black see a Weasley? Unheard of. Still, after years of kindness to me, I felt I owed him the answer. "Percy Weasley…"

It was obvious Severus was surprised; it was written all over his face. Without realizing it, he removed his hand from my shoulder. "Percy Weasley?" he asked to reconfirm, and I nodded. "You're only seventeen. Have you forgotten? That particular Mr. Weasley is, what, twenty-one? Twenty two?"

"I was aware of these things when I got involved, Severus," was my reply. It sounded strict and demanding even though it wasn't anything demandable. When it came out, he became depressed again, like he had been all of my last visits. "It was actually Christmas last year when we became involved. My seventeenth birthday. Seventeen is of age, is it not?"

"For magical purposes!" he hissed. He was definitely not taking this as lightly as I was hoping. "As relationships go, the age is still eighteen. You can't just go around dating adults, Sophia. You're still just-…"

"Just a little girl?" I cut him off. He didn't have to say anymore. "Everyone needs to realize that I'm not a child anymore, especially you and Remus. Seventeen, though not adult in the muggle world, _is_ the age of consent. Now, Severus," I added at the end, "this isn't why I came."

"Why did you come then?" he asked, suddenly extremely concerned. It puzzled me how he could switch from angry to concerned about me in a heartbeat, but I knew I was the exact same way with him. "What do you need?"

_What are you doing? _that new, horrible part of my brain hissed at me. It was the part that now spoke to me in the voice of Aunt Bellatrix. _Don't talk! Be silent, walk away, and leave off! _My normal self had made itself more active since I ruined my life with Percy, so I had the ability to tell this Bellatrix part of me, "No."

Looking at Severus, I began my tale. "I've been acting strangely. I know you've noticed. I get angry and temperamental, and I break things. I have a major melt-down over small, insignificant things. For instance, I freaked out on Percy for saying that wrapping paper doesn't matter. I forget which side of this war I'm on; I've let information slip through me! And then I-… I see a child somewhere -a small child, or a baby- and I just lose myself again. I melt." My eyes fell upon him desperately. "Severus, What's wrong with me?"

Severus shook his head, which scared me a little bit more. "I've seen this before," he said. "Except instead of her personal lines blurring and her anger rushing, she slowly went mad." He looked at me, straight in my eyes. "That was your mother," he added at last.

"So… it's genetic?" I asked frantically. "I can't fight it? I can't stop it? Am I ever going to be _me _again?" My nervousness got the better of me, and my speech accelerated. Again he placed a hand on my shoulder, this time to calm me.

"I didn't say that," came his response, and my bright blue eyes looked up at him in a dazed confusion, begging him to tell me more. "Remember your theory about Bellatrix being involved in your mother's suicide?" I nodded. "I'm almost certain you're right. There was a sapphire necklace she gave your mother not terribly long after you were born. She wore it every day, and every day she got madder." He glanced at my hand, glittering with the ring my aunt had given me. "She gave you that ring, I'm sure of it. It's got the same hex placed on it."

My eyes fell hard on the green ring adorning my finger. Hadn't I heard her laugh -seen her eyes- when I first put it on? "I don't doubt you're right, Severus," I said. "But if I stop wearing it, she'll know I figured it out." Both of our minds started working on a solution. If it were a cartoon, steam would've been coming out of our ears. If Bellatrix found out that her plan with the ring was failing, she could easily decide to kill me. Part of me, surprisingly not the new, hex-caused part but an old part that I always had, wanted to believe she wouldn't. It wanted to think she loved me, and it wanted to love her. It wanted our family to all be okay. I told this part to shut up while I tried to think of a plan.


	6. Sara's Note and Ron's Stupidity

Severus and I certainly were in a pickle. My life was on the line, but as if that was different than usual? However, this threat wasn't from the Dark Lord, our supposed Master. Actually, maybe he _was _Severus's real Master; I was still confused about that. This threat was from the ring adorning my finger, a "family heirloom" Aunt Bella Dearest had shared with me. So I stood, brainstorming for a solution, Severus doing the same, until he finally spoke and broke our silent thoughts.

"Well," he said abruptly, "I haven't got any ideas as to how to break the hex. Perhaps that brilliant father of yours will know. Go to him. And, since I'm leaving to Hogwarts again soon, I suggest you go live with him, or you'll be alone." His pale hand ran up and fell into his black hair, pushing a stray strand of the neck-length strings away from his face.

"Okay, Severus," was what I replied, even though my insides were screaming no. I wasn't sure I was ready to face Remus again. "I'll go to him. I'll get my things later. For now, I'm apparating. Do you mind if my stuff stays here for a while and my motorcycle sits in your driveway?" When he nodded, I continued. "All right. I'll just be on my way then-…"

"Wait." The unexpected interruption was accompanied by Severus's large hand grasping my thin upper arm, pretty much making that I physically _had_ to wait. I wanted to just ask, "What?" but I remained silent, waiting for Severus to reveal his intentions. His other hand burrowed into his inside coat pocket, pulled out a folded paper that had to be years and years old, and placed it in my hand. "Take this. I think it will either make or break our hypothesis." I nodded, hugged him briefly, told him I loved him (in German), and with a crack, I was gone.

Moments later, I was on Remus's and Tonks's porch. Hands trembling while one grasped the note Severus had given me, its contents unbeknownst to be, I nervously knocked on the door. For a while, nothing happened, and I wondered if maybe they'd moved and I hadn't heard, but eventually, the door moved, and a friendly-looking, large Tonks beckoned me in, all nice and pregnant. "Wotcher, kiddo!" she smiled warmly, the maternity sparkling in her eyes, and I knew she would make a great mother. "I was actually just leaving," she said sadly as I sat down, and my eyes shot up to her.

"I was really looking for Dad," said I, my hand in my pocket and my fingers secretly tracing the note Severus had so pointedly given me. "Is he home?" She shook her head but told me that he probably would be soon, and that I was welcome to wait for him. I decided I would do so, so she left, the door unlocked, and I sat alone in the house of my adoptive father, the house I had lived in not too long before. Now I was back, hoping to just be welcomed back into the family like I had never left, like what happened had never happened? My ideas seemed unreal. When I was alone, my hand acted on its own accord, curiosity fueling its actions, and soon the note was unfolded and before my eyes. It read as follows:

_Severus,_

_I've addressed this letter to you instead of Jake Because he just wouldn't understand. He wouldn't see how Ending my life was the best thing I could have done. Please Let him know that I Love him and I always will. I eed you to promise me that you will Always look out for my daughter; guard her with your life. Take the Time for her, will you? It seems verything is over for me, and it's such a hallenge to keep going after my son's death. I now now that miracles don't happen. Tell Remus that I Really am sorry about what happened in school. If you would, et my niece Tonks know that If she doesn't watch out for Sophie, I will come down and get her. Tell my sister-in-law, Anna, that I'll lways owe her the advice about motherhood she gave me. If anyone ever sees him, let my ousin Sirius know I love him and miss him. He was the greatest cousin one could hope to have. Hmm, look at all the nationalities of my family. English, American, and German. I was quite an Xenophile, wasn't I? _

_I suppose there's nothing left to say xcept goodbye, Severus. Once our friendship developed, I found you to have a good heart and a greater mind. I'm counting on you to ensure Sophie is raised right. _

_Fondest wishes for your future, _

_Sara_

Folding it back up, I noticed something I hadn't seen before. A set of small fingerprints and a set of larger ones were on the outside of the paper, stained in some kind of chemical or potion ingredient. I knew these fingerprints, and I knew them well. The larger set was Severus's. The smaller set, my own. That was when I realized what this was. This was the note my mother handed me when I ran into our living room to tell her about my and Severus's potion adventures, told me not to read and to give to Severus, just before she killed herself. This was my mother's suicide note. I could scarcely believe it. I now knew the last thoughts that ran through my mother's mind, and I was one of them. She had been concerned about my well-fair and raising. Maybe, just maybe, she really _did _love me. My mind and heart felt much at ease with this knowledge.

Instinctively, I reread the note over and over again, clinging to every word my mother had written as if it would make us closer, and maybe it would return her to me so she could explain all there was for me to know. On this closer inspection, I began noticing grammatical errors. My mother was a Ravenclaw, where only the most intellectually inclined were sent, and she literally had major panic attacks when excess spelling mistakes were discovered. Then how, I wondered, could she make so many mistakes herself?

Unless, I reasoned, it was a code, the last, desperate cry for help.

I scanned the room for something to write with and a free sheet of paper. Eventually finding one, I began to scribble down what her errors were. Some words seemed to be missing the beginning letters. In order, the missing letters were N, E, C, K, L, A, C, and E. Necklace. What did that mean? Was it true that her beloved necklace had been hexed? Then I noticed the second set of mistakes, which, honestly, should have been more obvious. Many words began with unnecessary capitalization. Scribbling those letters down above the spelled word _necklace_, I gasped at what I found, even though it wasn't that surprising: B-E-L-L-A-T-R-I-X.

What I exclaimed was involuntary. It had been sitting on my heart to weigh me down for years, and now I finally had proof. It wasn't just my crazed, bitter theories anymore; this was fact. My vocal chords did their thing, and my lips formed the words just as, unbeknownst to me, Remus slipped in his front door. So, of course with my luck and his timing, he heard me shout. "Damn you, Bellatrix! Damn you to Hell!"

"Sophia!" Remus bellowed, catching me off-guard, and I immediately stood up and spun around to face the source of my name being shouted. I ran to him and buried myself into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me in a nice, tight, affectionate hug. "It's great to see you, but you ought to watch your mouth. Ladies shouldn't cuss like that."

After a few seconds of brief catching up, I showed him the note and shared my discoveries. Dad wore a very grave face as I did so, and his only response was a small head nod, nothing vocal. I didn't blame him; there really wasn't anything possible to say. Then I told him I'd been staying with a friend of mine, but Unnamed Friend and I had an argument, so I left. I elaborated next on the ring, who had given it to me, and my seemingly confirmed suspicions. Again, his facial expressions were grave and somber, the silence fatal. Concluding, I summarized. "…So, basically, Aunt Bellatrix killed Mum and is now trying to kill or torture me."

Dad's eyes let out his emotions; he was always that way. Not many people knew that about him. Maybe they were just oblivious, or his feelings were subtle glints in his eyes, but there's hardly a time I could not tell what he was feeling through his eyes. Right now, the emotions in his eyes ranged from concerned to afraid to angry to defiant to terrified and everything in between. He was speechless, the words alluding him, for quite some time before he gasped, "Are you sure?"

"Completely," came my response. There was no doubt in my heart or mind anymore that Bellatrix was a force to be reckoned with, and aunt or no aunt, she wanted me dead. Bellatrix was used to getting what she wanted, and I highly disbelieved that this time would be any different. If she didn't get her way, there would be Hell to pay, which wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to. A face-off, though probably inevitable, might have been the last thing I ever did. Wiggling my ringed finger, I remarked, "This is the cursed ring. Isn't it dazzling and sparkly? It seems so innocent, just a family heirloom., but look closer." Holding my hand closer to his face so he could see _her _face, hear her laugh. Only at close range could one feel, truly _feel, _the evil present in this ring.

The pure hatred in the hexed ring was definitely enough for Dad to feel, and I would have sworn it was glowing black. My pulse increased in speed; it had never done that before. Did this mean she knew I was aware of her fatal jinx? Was it even _possible_ for me to be in more peril? "Sophie, this isn't good at all," Remus stated blankly, everything but his eyes wiped of all emotion. That was never a good sign. A desolate isolation of feelings meant serious trouble, a fact that I knew well.

"Well, I know that!" was my agitated response. Of course I was aware it wasn't good. Wasn't that why I came to him in the first place? I began to regret my decision to come, even though it was really more Severus's decision than mine. "What do I do? I mean, can you un-hex it so I can wear it and Bellatrix won't get suspicious, but I won't, you know, end up like Mum?" There was no simpler way to say it.

Remus was hesitant in his response. After a few moments of thought, his eyebrows knit together, he finally spoke. "I don't know, Soph," was his response. "I-… I just don't know. I can try." Carefully, he slid the ring in its Slytherin-colored perfection off of my finger and examined it even closer. Then he sat it down on the coffee table and just stared at it, as if his eyes were stuck to it, yet it was to me he spoke. "You've brought your possessions, I saw. Are you moving back in?"

Fearing that my eyes were dampening with moist tears, I rubbed my eyes and feigned a yawn. It wasn't exactly the best subject for me. Was I supposed to say, "Well, I ruined my own life by stupidly dumping the love of my life, so I guess so?" Instead of saying any of that, I just answered, "Just until I get another place to stay, if that's okay," I added quickly.

"It's more than okay," he smiled paternally and pulled me into a one-armed hug. It was times like these that I loved having Remus around. I couldn't imagine life without him; he meant so much to me. I wrapped my own arms around him and tucked my head between his shoulder and his chin, just where it seemed to fit. Remus and I were such a great pair. For all anyone cared, I could have biologically been his. We were that perfect. Back then, there wasn't anything that could separate him from me. I would never have let him leave me without a fight.

We sort of just sat there exactly like that for a while, unmoving and really having no need to. We didn't even need to speak; just being there was enough absorption of each other's company. After the while was up, I got up and took my stuff back up to my room. Surprisingly, it had been repainted, and redecorated. Then I remembered my baby sister was on her way, so this was definitely going to be the nursery. I didn't mind sleeping in a nursery since I swore to myself I wasn't staying too long, just until I could find a way to fix things with Percy. I probably loved him _too_ much.

I stayed with Remus and Tonks for Christmas, refusing to leave the house until the ring was fixed. As Dad hadn't yet found a way to un-hex it, we stayed home. Aunt Andromeda came over, though. It was great to see her, especially considering how rare that occasion came around. Arthur Weasley swung by briefly, and of course I forced my Weasley-intended presents on him. Once all of my presents had been distributed as well as possible, I found one left over: Percy's. I'd bought him a whole new suit for work. When I discovered the packaged present among my things, I clutched it tightly in my arms, holding it close to my chest, curled up on my bed, and just cried, sobbing pathetically. I was a sad sight, and I really hoped Remus wasn't home or, if he was, didn't hear me. Unfortunately, neither of my hopes were true, and moments after I began sobbing, there he was in my door way, asking me what was wrong. Thinking quickly, I hid the packaged present and lied convincingly something about stubbing my toe. Grabbing my wand, I swished it around, the tip pointed at my foot, then faked a smile and said I was better. Truly a narrow escape.

On the last day of December, I caught wind that Ron had run out Hermione and Harry on their escapades, fled secretly to Bill's and Fleur's cottage. Tonks was mentioning it to Remus; being Bill's friend since school days, he still told her nearly everything. I was outraged. How could Ron just abandon them? Well, I intended to find out.

That was how I ended up standing outside of the home of the oldest Weasley child in the freezing cold at three in the afternoon on the last day of the year, pounding as hard as I could with my half-frostbitten hands. I mentally noted that maybe I should've worn gloves, a hat, and possibly a coat, not just my favorite fall sweater. Fleur opened the door and smiled to be warmly. Secretly, it made me ill that she was now a Mrs. Weasley. She just didn't seem like Bill's type, but then again, I didn't know either of them terribly well. "Oh, Sophie! Please, come een!" I did so begrudgingly. Why couldn't she pronounce the word "in" correctly? Her little French accent got on my final nerve sometimes.

Once out of the cold, I got right down to business. "Where's Ron?" I asked. "I know he's here, so don't try to pretend he's not." All true statements, but, I reasoned hopefully, maybe he had already realized the error in his ways and gone back to Hermione and Harry. It was unlikely, but still plausible.

"I 'aven't seen Ronald een-…" Fleur began, but her words stopped; she was interrupted by Ron entering the room and assuring her it was okay for me to talk to him. She protested briefly, but Ron seemed set on letting me speak to him. It took a good deal of energy to restrain myself from hugging him. As irritated at him as I was, he was still a mate of mine, and I hadn't seen him in a while. Really, I wanted to embrace him and slap him at the same time. I wasn't sure whether or not this would go badly, but I at least had to try.

Once Fleur left us alone, I opened my mouth to speak. Ron seemed to have other plans, so it was from his lips that words emerged, not mine. "Come on, Sophie," was how he began. "I know you're probably mad at me for leaving Harry and Hermione, but I'm seventeen, just like you, and you make your own choices. Can't I make mine?"

"Technically," I remarked snidely with a teasing air playing about me, "I've been eighteen for about five days. My birthday was the twenty-fifth, remember? You're such a child, Ronald, at age seventeen! My, you've barely been in the world, poor dear!"

"They're probably more cozy without me," he said bitterly, ignoring my sarcastic response entirely. My eyebrow cocked up, I had to enquire as to what he was talking about. "Hermione and Harry," he said, "seem to have _feelings _for each other. Feelings _I've _had for Hermione for so, so long…" Through his bitterness, he forgot his hesitance, telling me everything, then remembering and slapping his hand over his mouth.

And I laughed. He glared angrily at me, but I couldn't help it. "Ron, you're one Hell of an idiot, you know that?" I chuckled innocently. "Really, are you that ignorant on purpose, or is it a disorder?" It was mean of me to be so rude, but it just came out before I could control myself or explain what I meant.

"And how do you figure that?" he asked angrily. "How would you like it if you were, for example, in lo-… fancied your best mate, but he and your female best mate fancied each other, instead?" He seemed truly hurt, and I couldn't imagine how on Earth he could have perceived Harry and Hermione as anything more than friends.

"Ron, you really _are _ignorant," I repeated. "Harry and Hermione don't fancy each other at all. They're nothing more than, well, you and I. Best mates until the end, which could quite possibly be decently soon, especially if you don't go help them." Then I turned around and began walking towards the front door, finding it would be rude to disapparate while inside someone's home. I looked at him sadly from the door before opening it, just shooting him one final, begging glance. In the brief second before I pulled it shut behind me, I thought I heard a cracking sound, the noise of apparation, but that might have just been me being hopeful. However, keeping the optimism up, I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, if Ron was returning, everything would turn out all right after all. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

Maybe there was hope for _me yet._


End file.
